﻿Cruising Alaska

Last month I got to explore Alaska by ship, We took the Celebrity Infinity 8 day Hubbard Glacier cruise from Vancouver, this was such an amazing experience and I would recommend it to anyone.

The ship had heaps to do, bingo, classes you could take, info sessions on each destination, tours of different areas of the ship, swimming pools, a spa, gym, sauna, running track and plenty of restaurants to fill in your time. Every evening there was a show, either a comedian or musical which were always fantastic!

I made use of the spa and had a massage, highly overpriced but an enjoyable way to fill in a couple hours! I also used the gym a few times, I was so surprised at how busy it was each day but such a good way to balance out all the food.

Icy Point Strait, Hoonah

Our first stop on the cruise was Icy Point Strait, which is a privately owned tourist destination. We booked the whales, wildlife and brown bear search excursion. Obviously with nature neither of these were guaranteed, after about an hour or so searching for bears with no luck, we had to move on to the whale search.

We were fortunate enough to see many whales, porpoises and sea otters! The tour guides on this trip were so informative, I now know so much about bears, whales and the native Tlingit tribe.

Hubbard Glacier, Alaska

Our next stop was Hubbard Glacier, this wasn’t the traditional port of call, our ship cruised up in front of the glacier and we stayed there for a few hours giving everyone a chance to view the glacier. I had seen so many pictures of this glacier, but nothing compared to seeing it in person. Icebergs fall off every few minutes and it takes 15 seconds or so for the noise of it to get to you, something you really need to see!

Juneau

My favourite stop on this cruise was Juneau, we had a full day here and there was so much to see and do. One must do here is to see the Mendenhall Glacier, there is a information centre when you first arrive with a short film to watch. Then a short walk away is the amazing glacier and waterfall.

After we got back into town we up the Mount Roberts Tramway, kinda boring, average view and I wouldn’t recommend.

Probably the reason why Juneau was the highlight for me was the sea plane flight. It was an hour long and took us over 5 glaciers and an ice field. I didn’t even know what an ice field was before this trip, so flying over this ice field I was blown away! I just wanted to jump out of the plane and land in it!

These last two shots are of the Medenhall Glacier, so amazing to see it from above as well!

So if you only have a short time in Juneau, this is the one thing you can’t miss out on!

Ketchikan

Our final stop was Ketchikan, where we only had a few hours. We booked ‘adventure karts’. This was extremely underwhelming, however growing up on a farm and the fact these cruises are aimed at people a lot older than me, I don’t think it was meant for me. It was awesome to get out of the town, to see the Alaska woods and the view from the top of the mountain was amazing! But if you are looking for adventure this isn’t it!

Since we only had a short time in Ketchikan we only had a short time to explore the town before we left. My favourite part was Creek Street, which was their red light distract built on stilts.

Another highlight of this cruise was cruising the Inside passage, such a beautiful part of the world and reminded me a lot of home.

Being my first cruise I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it, but I really did! Think I would choose a warmer location next time though 😉

Hi, welcome to my blog!

Hi, I'm Rebecca, I currently live in Auckland, New Zealand. I work in travel to fund my never ending bucket list of travels I dream about! I always enjoy reading blogs when I am planning a trip so hopefully this page will help someone out :)